Summary of the previous chapter: Ma Xiaoquan arrived in Xudu to meet Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and stayed in Xudu for a month. In March, Ma Chao assembled a large force to attack Chang'an. Ma Xiaoquan went to Chang'an to "consol" Xia Houyuan, the then guard general, on the order of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.
...
Ma Xiaoquan was a little disappointed, but it was understandable. After all, Xia Houyuan had important responsibilities, and Chang'an's defense relied on him.
Peace of mind as soon as it comes. Although there is no trace of his son's whereabouts, Ma Xiaoquan does not complain too much about Xia Houyuan. At present, Ma Chao is unstoppable and continues to pull out several counties around Chang'an. The top priority is to retreat Ma Chao first.
While hesitating, Xia Houyuan suddenly asked Ma Xiaoquan: "Master Shangxian, what do you think of Ma Chao?"
Ma Xiaoquan came back to his senses and said: "You are brave and resourceful, but your strategy is not very good. Compared with you, a talented person, it is still a little worse."
Xia Houyuan hummed softly and said: "Ma Chao defeated several of my counties, and his followers are only over ten thousand. Lord Shangxian, if you want to defeat Ma Chao, I think we should..."
Xia Houyuan told Ma Xiaoquan his thoughts and arrangements. After listening, Ma Xiaoquan nodded repeatedly and praised: "Miaocai is really powerful, but... Miaocai, your strategy is a little more fixed. If you make a little effort,
If it is changed, it should be more flexible and easier to use."
"Oh?" Xia Houyuan was shocked and said, "I hope Master Shangxian can give me some advice."
Ma Xiaoquan smiled slightly, shook his head and said: "Although I stand on the same line as your lord, I am not planning to conquer the world for the sake of greed. I will not participate. You are a wonderful talent, and you will be well on your own."
Think about it carefully."
Xia Houyuan didn't say much after hearing this. He knew Lord Shangxian's temperament. Although Lord Shangxian had not given him any advice for more than a month, Xia Houyuan admired Lord Shangxian's ability in training troops.
's body fell to the ground.
During the past month of staying in Chang'an, Ma Xiaoquan was not idle. When he had nothing to do, he led Xia Houyuan's soldiers to practice and play.
Ma Xiaoquan was born into a military family. Growing up, his father, Ma Liehuo, would train on his own whenever he had nothing to do until he got comfortable with the practice. After he grew up and joined the Boy Scouts, Ma Xiaoquan experienced the inhuman training. After going to college,
During several missions, Ma Xiaoquan almost died. If he hadn't trained well enough, he might have become a bone in the ground by now.
Of course, these things happened a long time ago. The current Ma Xiaoquan is the "Master Immortal" who has physically traveled back through time.
However... training that seemed ordinary in Ma Xiaoquan's eyes was extraordinary in Xia Houyuan's eyes. After all, Xia Houyuan was from this era, and the training content for soldiers was definitely not as good as that from
Ma Xiaoquan in modern society.
Of course, the training was not in vain. Xia Houyuan did not like money, but it did not mean that he had no money. After arriving in Chang'an, Xia Houyuan actually plundered some treasures left by the rebels. In addition to giving some to appease the people, he also
A large part of it was hoarded by Xia Houyuan.
After receiving the news that Xia Houyuan was hoarding treasures, Ma Xiaoquan immediately proposed the idea of "I will help you train soldiers, and you will pay me".
...
The training results of Ma Xiaoquan's soldiers were very remarkable. One day, Xia Houyuan sent several teams out to patrol. Unexpectedly, the team encountered one of Ma Chao's troops on the way. The two armies started fighting without saying a word. This fight , distinguishing between good and bad.
Xia Houyuan's two squads, with a weak force of less than 300 men, actually defeated Ma Chao's 1,000 men, and what was even more incredible to Xia Houyuan was that there were zero casualties.
You must know that as long as there is a war, there will definitely be casualties. There are no examples of wars with zero casualties, but it is absolutely impossible to fight more with less and still have zero casualties.
Xia Houyuan's eyes were opened this time.
Xia Houyuan was very excited. With Master Shangxian helping him train soldiers, he really didn't take Ma Chao seriously. This is one of the reasons why Xia Houyuan still followed the plan even though Ma Chao even attacked the city.
In early July of the 17th year of Emperor Xian's reign of the Han Dynasty, Xia Houyuan, who had elite soldiers and generals, finally ordered the city to attack Ma Chao.
It was summer at this time. Not only was the weather hot, but there was also quite a lack of water.
Although Ma Chao's troops were brave, they were still mostly rabble-rous. After several head-to-head battles, Ma Chao couldn't stand it any longer. Coupled with the lack of water, food, and supplies, all the cities and villages originally captured by Ma Chao also surrendered. go back.
Xia Houyuan, who had conquered the lost territory, was not in a hurry to take advantage of the victory to pursue the remnants of Ma Chao. After all, Xia Houyuan's tribe consisted mostly of soldiers from the Central Plains. Although they were both in the north, the climates of northwest and north China were completely different concepts.
It was still hot during the day, but it immediately cooled down at night. The temperature difference was so big that even Ma Xiao couldn't stand it.
...
"Ah sneeze" Xia Houyuan sneezed, rubbed his nose, and asked Ma Xiaoquan next to him: "Master Shangxian, when will we attack Ma Chao?"
Ma Xiaoquan pinched his fingers pretending to be mysterious and murmured: "Let's give it a few days."
Xia Houyuan did not doubt it, and immediately nodded and said: "Okay, then it will take a few days."
Xia Houyuan didn't know that when Ma Xiaoquan said it would take a few days, he actually meant that he would fight while fighting, but Xia Houyuan understood it to mean that he would fight again in a few days.
Coincidentally, during these few days of waiting, Xia Houyuan welcomed the envoy sent by Ma Chao.
This envoy was very interesting and eloquent. After arriving in Chang'an, he first made a eloquent announcement and then explained his purpose.
It was inconvenient for Ma Xiaoquan to appear, so he had been hiding behind a screen and listening quietly. After hearing the messenger's intention, Ma Xiaoquan almost rushed out.
Because the messenger said that one of Liang Xing's former rebel generals has united with Ma Chao. If you continue to fight with us, we will fight you. Also, General Liang Xing captured a child and tortured him. You know, he is the son of Shenxianhou. If you don't fight us, we can return Shenxianhou's son.
Ma Xiaoquan told Xia Houyuan about his intention to find his son, and Xia Houyuan also understood it. However, the messenger said it in vain. Not to mention Ma Xiaoquan, even Xia Houyuan doubted the authenticity of the matter.
Xia Houyuan secretly glanced at the screen and found that there was no movement, so he said: "Well, you go back immediately and send a token tomorrow. If the token is definitely that of Mr. Hou's son, we will talk about it later."
The envoy understood what was going on and immediately nodded and left.
As soon as the messenger left, Ma Xiaoquan came out from behind the screen.
Xia Houyuan stepped forward and said respectfully: "Master Shangxian, look at this..."
Ma Xiaoquan waved his hand: "I have to go and see for myself."
"Ah?" Xia Houyuan was startled and said hurriedly, "Master Shangxian, you just left like this, and the matter of training soldiers..."
Ma Xiaoquan said: "It's no longer necessary. Just do as I told you. You are just a talented person. If you catch Liang Xing, what will you do with him?"
Xia Houyuan said: "If you can recruit someone to surrender, then of course you must surrender."
"No!" Ma Xiaoquan shook his head and said, "There is no need to keep Liang Xing."
Xia Houyuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Thank you, Master Shangxian, for the tip. I'll remember it."
"Well, okay, then I'll leave immediately, wonderful talent, take care."
"Take care, Lord Immortal..."
...
Ma Xiaoquan walked out from the North City Gate of Chang'an to the left, and on the right side of the North City Gate, two people came in, a middle-aged man and a half-year-old boy.
The two men were covered in dust and looked very embarrassed. When they entered the gate, they were interrogated by the city gate guards for a long time before being let in.
The middle-aged man lowered his head and asked the boy: "Third brother, how are you? Are you hungry?"
The little boy shook his head: "You're not too hungry yet. Second brother, didn't you say you were going to Hanzhong? Why did you come to Chang'an first?"
The middle-aged man said: "Let's get something in Chang'an first before we go there. By the way, what did you say you lost?"
The little boy said: "It's such a pity that the jade pendant was given to me by my father."
"Where did you lose it?"
"Fucheng Mountain."
"Oh, there, I heard that a rebel general came here some time ago, his name is Liang Xing."
"Well, yes, I guess we were groped when we passed there a few days ago."
The middle-aged man waved his hand: "Hey, forget it, it's gone if it's gone. If you like it, how about you secretly find two of them in the pawn shop in Chang'an City today?"
The little boy thought for a while, nodded and said, "Okay."